Pink Floyd cover band Brit Floyd brings music to Toledo March 13

Music of David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Rick Wright, Nick Mason and Syd Barrett – or Pink Floyd – will be celebrated at the Huntington Center this week.

Brit Floyd will play at the Huntington Center on March 13. Photo Courtesy David Munn.

Cover band Brit Floyd will be in town on March 13, featuring “note-for-note performances” of songs from Pink Floyd’s biggest albums: “The Dark Side of the Moon,” “Wish You Were Here,” “The Wall,” “The Division Bell” and “Animals.”

This is the first time since last summer this European band is returning in the States.

“I think if there’s one place for a band to tour properly, it’s the United States,” vocalist, guitarist and musical director Damian Darlington said. “It’s always very special, a lot of fun and very easy to tour in the U.S. compared perhaps to some other places in the world.”

Since their first show in Liverpool, England, in 2011, Brit Floyd has traveled the world and played for more than one million fans.

“It’s been very special,” Darlington said. “It’s remarkable how quickly Brit Floyd has managed to establish itself. … It’s been a lot of fun and a very special experience.”

Darlington spent 17 years playing with another Pink Floyd tribute show, so is experienced.

“I was hoping and expecting Brit Floyd would take off in the way it did,” Darlington said. “As a musician, I like playing in front of audiences and getting a chance to play onstage with other good musicians … I’m happy to do this for as long as people want to hear Pink Floyd music.”

Photo Courtesy David Munn.

This show, titled “Discovery,” named after Pink Floyd’s recent box set of the same name, is a three-hour spectacle that chronologically explores Pink Floyd’s catalog, spanning beyond three decades. “Discovery” promises live renditions of the biggest hits and the lesser known gems.

Darlington had the task of forming the setlist, which he based off the recent box set. At least one track from every Pink Floyd album will be played during the show.

“I thought it a cool idea to kind of represent that in some way,” he said. “We’re going back to the very beginning.”

In true Pink Floyd fashion, the show will also feature circle lights and original video with animation inspired by the artwork of Pink Floyd collaborator Storm Thorgerson. Darlington said attention to detail went into the work.

“Given that what Pink Floyd is principally about is touring and we do so much of it … it’s a constantly evolving process,” Darlington said. “We can’t plan it for many months because for many months we’re out on tour.”

Darlington fell in love with music when he received a guitar for Christmas when he was 11 years old. He discovered Pink Floyd when he was 13 years old and heard “The Wall.”

“I’ve been hooked on them ever since,” he said.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are on sale now through Ticketmaster, the Huntington Center Box Office or by calling (800) 745-3000. For more information, visit britfloyd.com or huntintoncentertoledo.com.

Brit Floyd to play at Huntington Center

If you close your eyes at the Feb. 28 Brit Floyd concert at the Huntington Center, you might think you’re hearing Pink Floyd. But then you’d miss the visual spectacle the tribute band with a reputation for note-for-note recreation will bring.

Damian Darlington of Brit Floyd

“There’s plenty variety of Floyd music for people to hear, plus we have a big live show: There’s video, there’s inflatables, the full Pink Floyd visual and audio experience for people to enjoy,” said Damian Darlington, singer-guitarist and musical director of Brit Floyd.

For the tour, the 11-member band will play all the songs from Pink Floyd’s compilation disc, “A Foot in the Door,” released in November. The set includes “Money,” “Learning to Fly,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Time,” “Comfortably Numb” and “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2.”

“There’s plenty of young people coming along to the gigs who seem to be totally passionate about what they’re listening to,” Darlington said during a call from his home in Crewe, England. “[Pink Floyd’s music] seems to have a lot of depth in it; people seem to connect with it in a personal way, they read things into the lyrics that they can relate to.

“The music is very, very evocative and things like ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond,’ there’s nothing else quite like it out there even until this day, 35, 40 years onward, that opening chord of ‘Shine On,’ where you can just have one chord and it works so well.”

Brit Floyd must put on a convincing show — they’ve got some high-profile fans.

Darlington recalled a concert with the Australian Pink Floyd Show shortly after he joined in 1994: “After we finished the gig and went back to the dressing rooms, David Gilmour knocked on the door [laughs], and it was obviously a great shock to us, a very nice one, and a big, big surprise.”

Pink Floyd invited the band backstage after a show in London. Then came another request.

“We got a call asking could we come and play at [Gilmour’s] 50th birthday party, and we even got paid for doing it [laughs], so it was a double bonus, although I’m sure we would have paid to play at David Gilmour’s party,” Darlington said. “Richard Wright, Nick Mason — other people such as George Harrison, he was there, Sting was there, Kate Bush was there, it was a wealth of stars from the music business and also from television who were there as well.

“We played for just one hour and when it came to play ‘Comfortably Numb’ at the end of the set, Rick Wright came up and asked very nicely and politely could he join us on keyboards, and we said of course,” Darlington said. “That’s how I had the pleasure of playing ‘Comfortably Numb’ with Rick Wright on Hammond next to me on stage.”

In 2010, Darlington and others left the Aussie show to form Brit Floyd.

Brit Floyd will take the stage at the Huntington Center at 8 p.m. Feb. 28. Tickets range from $27.50 to $47.45.

Will there by flying pigs?

“I hope so,” Darlington said and laughed. “I’m not quite familiar with the venue, how big it is inside, but if there’s room, there should be a flying pig.”